Hair clipper blade adjustment



June 18, 1957 M. cs. ANDIS 2,795,843

' HAIR CLIPPER BLADE ADJUSTMENT Filed Oct. 4. 1954 I JNVENTOR. 4' MATTHEW 61 Awe/.5

A 7 TORAIE Y5 United States Patent HAIR CLIPPER BLADE ADJUSTMENT Matthew G. Anrlis, Racine, Wis., assignor to Andis Clipper Co., Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 4, 1954, Serial No. 460,062

4 Claims. (Cl. 30--201) This invention relates to hair clipper blade adjustment.

A rock shaft or cam shaft mounted for oscillation on a clipper case has an arm engaged with a slide which moves substantially in the plane of, but at right angles to, the direction in which the vibratory blade of the clipper reciprocates. The shear plate, or non-reciprocable blade of the clipper, is connected with this slide to partake of its adjusting movement. Two separate stops control the adjusting movement. One of these is a manually controllable set screw carried by the clipper case and engaging off center with a flat on the rock shaft. The other stop is a limit stop comprising a screw having its head overlying the path of reciprocation of the slide and serving to provide a terminal limit beyond which the slide can not be moved without removal of the screw, regardless of any excessive adjustment of the first stop.

The rock shaft is controllable manually during use of the clipper and the comb plate or guard is sufiiciently deep in section to provide means whereby the length of the hair cut by the clipper may actually be varied during use thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in axial section through a hair clipper embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in transverse section on the plane indicated at 22 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view taken in section substantially on the plane indicated at 33 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detailed view taken in section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The clipper may be of any desired type. As illustrated, it comprises a conventional magnetic type having a vibratory armature 5 supported within the clipper case 6. The free end of the armature carries a bifurcated spring driver 7, the legs 70 and 71 of which (Fig. 2) are beveled at an angle which is sharper than the marginal angles of the notches 8 and 9 of the arms 10 and 11 with which legs 70 and 71 are engaged. The arms 10 and 11 project upwardly from the transversely reciprocable shear blade 12 of the clipper.

In accordance with the present invention, the clipper case 6 has a heavy heel portion 15, as best shown in Fig. 1. In the transverse bore 16, the rock shaft or cam shaft 17 is oscillatable subject to the manual control of the user of the clipper. The entire case of the clipper constitutes a handle for its manipulation. The control lever 18, connected with the rock shaft 17 by cap screw 19, extends alongside the clipper case within easy reach of the fingers of the operator. A compression spring 20, sealed in the end of bore 116 remote from handle 18, exerts axial thrust on the rock shaft through the washer 21 to maintain the rock shaft under suflicient bias so that friction will resist its accidental displacement.

The thrust on the rock shaft is absorbed through the slide 25 which the rock shaft actuates. A peg 26 constituting a rocker arm projecting radially from the rock shaft has a ball head 27 seated in the socket 28 of the slide to transmit motion thereto as will clearly be evident Patented June 18, 1957 in Fig. 1. Opening from the bore 16 in which the rock shaft oscillates is a flaring channel 29 affording clearance for the movement of the rocker arm 26.

The slide 25 is disposed in a plane which is parallel to, and preferably coincides with, the plane in which the blade 12 reciprocates. However, the path of movement of slide 25 is at right angles to the path of movement of blade 12. A way in which the slide is guided for reciprocation is provided by the flanges 30 of plate 31, the flanges being formed to overlie the beveled side margins 32 of the slide. Plate 31 is screwed to the clipper case.

A heel plate 33 is countersunk in the shear plate 34 of the clipper and screws 35 connect the heel plate 33 and the shear plate 34 to the slide 25 to partake unitarily of the movement of the slide. Thus the teeth 36 of the shear plate 34 are adjustable to any degree of extension beyond the teeth 37 of the reciprocable blade 12 to determine the length to which the hair will be cut by the interaction of these teeth in the motor operated reciprocation of blade 12.

As a positive stop for defining the ultimate limit to which the slide 25 and associated shear plate 36 may be moved, the screw 39 is inserted into the thickened heel portion 15 of the case with its head 40 overhanging the path of movement of the slide as best shown in Fig. 1. However, in order that the operator may readily determine a range of oscillation of rock shaft 17 within the limit fixed by the stop 40, the rock shaft 17 is desirably provided with a flat 47 with which the set screw 48 is engaged at one side of the axis of rock shaft 17 (see Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). A screw driver slot in the upper end of the set screw permits the operator to adjust this as desired, the cover 49 of the clipper case being removable to give access. A lock nut 50 holds the screw in adjusted position.

The compression of spring 20 biases the parts with sufficient force to take up all lost motion and permits smooth control of the shear plate while the clipper is in operation.

I claim:

1. In a hair clipper, the combination with a reciprocable power driven blade, of a shear plate mounted for fore and aft adjustment and means for effecting such adjustment including a rock shaft, means supporting the rock shaft for oscillation, means for transmitting oscillatory movement of the rock shaft to the shear plate for the fore and aft adjustment of the plate, a handle connected with the rock shaft, and manually adjustable means for limiting rock shaft oscillation whereby to define the extent of shear plate movement, said clipper being provided with positive stop means defining an extreme of shear plate movement short of which said plate is normally stopped by said manually adjustable means.

2. In a hair clipper, the combination with a reciproca'ble power driven blade, of a shear plate mounted for fore and aft adjustment and means for effecting such adjustment including a rock shaft, means supporting the rock shaft for oscillation, means for transmitting oscillatory movement of the rock shaft to the shear plate for the fore and aft adjustment of the plate, a handle connected with the rock shaft, and manually adjustable means for limiting rock shaft oscillation whereby to define the extent of shear plate movement, said manually adjustable means for limiting rock shaft oscillation comprising a set screw, said rock shaft having a surface engageable with the set screw, the set screw being off center and disposed in the path of said surface as the rock shaft oscillates.

3. In a clipper, the combination with a casing and a flanged mounting plate providing a way and having a channel opening through the plate, of a slide with beveled margins reciprocable in the way, a shear plate mounted on the slide and having a recessed lower face, a sole plate countersunk into such face, and screws connecting the sole plate with the slide through the shear plate, whereby the shear plate is clamped between the sole plate and the slide, the casing having a bore transverse respecting the channel and the slide having a socket opposite the channel, a rock shaft 'oscillata bly mounted in the bore and provided with an arm projecting through the channel and having a head within the socket of the slide, the said rock shaft being provided externally of the clipper case with a handle, and a spring within said bore subjecting the rock shaft to axial bias transmitted through said arm to said slide and absorbed by a flange of the guide plate.

4. The combination 'set forth in claim 3 in which the rock shaft is provided with a fiat and the clipper casing is provided with stop means adjustably mounted in the path of movement of the Hat to limit the oscillation of the rock shaft and thereby to determine the range of movement of the shear plate and sole plate and slide unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 445,947 Coates et a1. Feb. 3, 1891 1,704,201 McArdle Mar. 5, 1929 2,006,493 Andis July 2, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 656,821, Germany Feb. 15, 1938 814,117 Germany Sept. 20, 1951 

